It's a big win for Goodr’s mission to end food waste and hunger!
Jasmine Crowe's food waste management company, Goodr, has successfully closed a Series A funding round of $8 million, AfroTech reports.
Goodr, launched by Crowe in 2017, utilizes technology and logistics to track surplus food within organizations and repurpose that food to give to communities in need. In only five years' time, the company has provided food to millions of people across the country, and earlier this year, opened its first free grocery store in a senior community in Midtown Atlanta. Now the start-up has raised and secured an $8 million Series A funding round.
It's perhaps the company's largest Series A funding round, a fundraiser that generally takes place when a start-up has made significant progress and has shown potential to grow and generate revenue. Precursor Ventures led the round and gained participation from Collab Capital, Gratitude Railroad, Emerson Collective, Backstage Capital, Innovations For Impact, Telus Pollinator Fund, Kimbal, and Christiana Musk, plus a number of angel investors.
"I am thankful to the many investors that believed in Goodr for contributing to this milestone for our company,” AfroTech reports Crowe saying. “We have been very capital efficient over the last five years reaching millions in annual revenue with a team of just five people for years. I look forward to growing our team, expanding to new markets and building new products to end hunger and help businesses reduce food waste. It’s an exciting time for all of us here at Goodr.”
Crowe took to Instagram to share the huge milestone and express her gratitude for her team, writing: "To my team, you believed and encouraged me every day. You gave me hope in my darkest hours and you stuck by my side through it all. I am thrilled to be on this journey of ending hunger and waste with you. When I think of all we have accomplished over the years as a lean and capital-efficient team- I know what is ahead is even better. You are the very best team ever!"
She also introduced her mentor and first-ever angel investor Jewel Burks Solomon as Goodr's newest appointed board member. Solomon is a managing partner at Collab Capital and the first head of Google for Startups in the U.S.
"It's been an honor to watch Jasmine and her team efficiently grow the business and create intentional, measurable impact over the last 5 years,” expressed Solomon in a statement. “With this new infusion of capital, Goodr is poised to scale its mission and continue to be the gold standard for how to do well and do good. I’m thrilled to join Goodr’s Board of Directors at this important moment in the company’s journey."
The new funding takes Goodr to a total of $9.4 million raised, further equipping the company to achieve their ultimate goal of eliminating food waste and hunger altogether. In the words of Crowe: "The time is now."
And Goodr is more than ready to make an even greater impact.
Photo Courtesy of Goodr